Chapter 2:  The Lost Girl

And before the next rise Sim was gone. Alex knew it by stank. After the girl had run off, there was a short moment of clarity to her. Fresh air. She had gone outside to think about what to do with this girl and then suddenly it was everywhere. Rotten flesh. Burnt skin. Apparently she has come all the way down from her throne of bones and thorns, just for this girl. Sim was her name. Of course Mel took her in. And whatever the reason, death has taken a liking to her. The Old Wanderer smiles, apparently it was high time for them to have a conversation with the Rouge Knight of Puppets.

“What did you do to her?” Mel was there. “Me ? Nothing.” “Come on, I just talked to Sim, she was completely upset.” The Old Wanderer turned around, took their mask off and glared into Mel’s eyes: “Mel, be honest with me, you always were a smart girl. Don’t act like you do not know what is wrong with her.” Mel averted her gaze: “We all face our demons.” “Yes, and some are the ones you can not just shrug off.” Mel looked up again: “What did you say to her?” “Just asking questions.” They did not want to play games with Mel, Mel deserved better, so the Old Wanderer elaborated: “Look: From the moment I met Sim, I could tell something did not smell quite right… and she felt it too, she was hurt just by the presence of my curse. When I feel something like that, I have to get to the bottom of it, because I have to know what kind of games the gods are playing.” “Oh, come on, not…” “Mel, please shut up for a minute. We both know there are vicious things going on on this stream and it sucks, but your new project, Sim, she was doomed to get involved with it and I think I know who it is, that this poor girl is affected by. I could smell death from her.”

They took a deep breath, before they continued speaking: “I know you just want Sim to be happy. If I am correct, this is a demon Sim has to face and I just want to help her.” Mel sighed out loud. Then she asked: “Okay, what is your plan?” “First we have to find her.” “What?” “Sim is gone.” “No! I just talked to her.” It must have happened right after. “Well now she is not here anymore.”

“That can’t be!” Mel stormed off.

The Old Wanderer took a deep breath. Things started to get interesting. There must be an exit on the back of the Inn, so they decided to take a look around. A little bit of the foul stank was still hanging in the air. They could smell it more and more, the closer the Old Wanderer was getting to the back. Then a couple steps before the corner they saw something. The grass has changed it's color. From a dark green to an ashen gray. Not everywhere, only in certain spots. Like footprints. But then Alex saw something different, something she did not expect: There was no exit on the back off the Inn.

The Rouge Knight surely knew how to make an entrance. “Is he playing with me?” Surely not. Not everything in this world was about the Old Wanderer. They  knew that.